The 🇩🇪 German Bundesliga ⚽️ is the next football league among the European „Big-Five“ that will put its domestic broadcasting rights (2021/22 - 24/25) back on the market. Its proposed structure of the media rights tender is currently under review by the German watchdog, which is also seeking input from potential bidders as part of its reviewing process. 🧐 Among the last-minute changes that were added after the DFL, the operator of the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga in Germany, submitted its proposal to the „Bundeskartellamt“ in 2015: adding the „No-Single-Buyer“ - Rule, something to which league officials are greatly opposed to this time around. 🙅🏼♂️
Regardless of whether there will be such monumental changes to the original plan of the DFL once again, the draft version already provides a glimpse into how the Bundesliga intends to further grow media rights revenues after it already saw them skyrocketing for the current rights cycle (2017/18 - 20/21) with a whopping 72% increase. 🚀
What did we already learn about how the league wants to tackle the digital disruption in the media space?
Below, my ten major takeaways of how the DFL wants to segment, distribute, and monetise its most valuable asset:
1️⃣
DFL Responsive to Market Feedback by Eliminating „No-Single-Buyer“ - Rule, catering to the interest of both the consumers and rights holders.
2️⃣
Interested in Getting into Business with Digital-Only / -First Players, but not to the extreme like other major sports leagues.
3️⃣
No „Slicing & Dicing“ of Rights, live packages providing a path for all rights holders for effective monetization of consumers and even the potential for a “One-Stop-Shop” instead.
4️⃣
Higher Number of Exclusive Broadcasting Windows across the Weekend as Value Driver, compensating for the elimination of Monday Night Games.
5️⃣
Eurosport Moving on to greener Pastures, but was dealt a bad hand by the DFL from the beginning.
6️⃣
Clear Path for Moving 2. Bundesliga out of the Bundesliga’s Shadow, awarding second-tier division to a dedicated rights holder would be beneficial for everybody involved.
7️⃣
Re-thinking the Value of Non-live Content, making highlights about marketing instead of immediate monetization. (Focus on Package “N”)
8️⃣
Increasing Value of Near-Live Highlights, shorter attention spans of the younger audience are both a curse and a blessing. (Focus on Package “M”)
9️⃣
Game of Supply and Demand, restricting supply while still making all 306x Bundesliga matches available as live broadcasts.
🔟
Longer Rights Cycles in Interest of Rights Holders, providing more time for monetization and innovation remains critical in times of skyrocketing rights acquisition costs.
At the end, it’s prediction time:
💬 CONCLUSION:
Sky DE as „One-Stop-Shop,“ Single-digit Percentage Increase in Total Rights Fees, DAZN vs. Amazon, and What If?
